Muhammad Ali was one of the most prominent athletes of the 20 th century. Aside from contributing to the sport of boxing, Ali was an outspoken activist that contributed to black advancement especially during the civil rights movement that was led by Martin Luther King, Jr (Voulgaris, 2016). As a person that was always in the public limelight, the transformation of the athlete’s personality has been documented, starting from when his name was Cassius Clay to when he changed to Muhammad Ali. His loud, proud, and unabashed demeanor, his personal experience and his strong stand against what he does not believe in makes Carl Rogers theory of self the most befitting personality theory that can describe Muhammad Ali (Voulgaris, 2016). Carl Rogers was the pioneer of humanistic psychotherapy that focused on an individual-centered approach, which viewed the self as the core of the study of personality (Ismail et al., 2015). The paper analyzes how Muhammad Ali actualized, enhanced, and maintained himself using the Carl Rogers theory that is primarily based on the actualizing tendency of human beings.
Carl Rogers’ personality theory concentrates on the idea of self-concept. In this context, self-concept is the personal tendency to act in a manner which actualizes oneself, leading to differentiation from others (Ismail et al., 2015). The self-experiences of a person are differentiated and symbolized in conscious awareness, and, in that way, establishing the individual’s self-concept. According to Rogers, people tend to be motivated by an inborn tendency which is the primary motivation of self (Ismail et al., 2015). The theory describes healthy people as persons who can integrate occurrences into their self-structure. A healthy person is open to experiences. However, people are always open to disregard awareness of vital experiences. Muhammad Ali showcases the various aspects of Carl Rogers self-theory. He acquired knowledge through personal experience and interaction with other humans. In addition, his family history, his struggles, his travel, and the broad understanding of the black experience molded Muhammad Ali to become a civil rights activist. Muhammad chose to be influenced by the sensory and emotional experiences, which dictated his subsequent actions.
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According to Carl Rogers self-theory, real-self or self-image plays a significant role in how a person carries himself or herself. It directly affects how an individual feels, thinks and acts in the world. Muhammad Ali’s personality is heavily affected by his perception of his self-image. According to Rogers, real self is initiated by actualizing tendency and follows organismic valuing (Ismail et al., 2015). Also, real-self receives positive regard and self-regard. The real self showcases the inner personality- a self that showcases who one is. While it might not be very perfect, the inner part of people is the one that feels the most real. In addition to being a talented boxer, Muhammad Ali was aware of his role and importance outside the ring. While sport might have been part of his life, he was also a remarkable human being. He was a highly provocative figure as he conducted himself in a manner that did not adhere to the norms of segregation that was dominant in the community of those times (Voulgaris, 2016). To some, he came out as a hugely proud and arrogant person. Although his demeanor might not have been appealing to others, he chose to showcase it before the press. Unlike other popular figures that restrict and censor what they say in public, Ali showcased the controversial and proud self since that was his real self, and that is where he felt the most real.
When an individual starts to operate his or her valuing processes exhaustively, they also tend to experience self-movement and growth towards realizing their potential. The sport of boxing had experienced systemic racism for many years preceding Muhammad Ali’s era (Voulgaris, 2016). Many heavy champions in the 19 th century swore never fight a black man, and they held to their promise. In the early years of Ali’s career, the fighter was stripped of his heavyweight title due to his refusal to partake in the Vietnam war (Voulgaris, 2016). In analyzing the situation, Ali compares himself with Jack Johnson, who was exiled from fighting in the US following the wrong persecution by the federal government (Voulgaris, 2016). The comparison between Muhammad Ali and Jack Johnson is a show of how Ali managed to understand his self-worth and thus letting no one put him down. The boxer embraced his attitude and was longing to behave in a manner that the United States community has not seen. Ali’s decision to join the Nation of Islam in 1964 along with his outright support of Malcolm X, and Elijah Muhammad’s ideas, was motivated by his urge to practice his freedom as an African American who understands his self-worth. Moreover, Ali’s decision to change his name was driven by the need to abandon the family name that was acquired from slave owners and embrace a new identity that is built on his understanding of his self-worth. Ali knew that fighting could help him achieve a better life, and thus, he chose to take it up.
According to Rogers, an individual who has high self-worth has a higher potential of dealing with challenges in life, tolerating failures, and sadness in some instances. Despite the negative experience, such a person still interacts openly with people. Muhammad Ali, throughout his life, faced multiple challenging moments but still managed to remain positive and charismatic in his interaction with other people. While there had never been tight scrutiny of a boxing champion’s religion before, Muhammad Ali’s link to the Nation of Islam caused a lot of scrutinies. Ali’s title was revoked and had himself shut out of boxing activities due to his stand against the war in Vietnam. In addition, the boxer was also sentenced to five years in prison. Resultantly, Ali received negative publicity, with multiple individuals, ranging from producers and television personality to Congresspeople. Despite all the insults, Ali remained dignified in his stand against the Vietnam war. Even after being diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, the former heavyweight champion did not lose his positivity and the will to enjoy life. These are some of the evidence of Ali’s self-worth, which helped him cope with the challenging situations better than some people found in that situation (Ismail et al., 2015). He maintained his pride even when he lost boxing matches, he was a positive figure that continued with his role outside the sport even after the career-ending diagnosis.
Ali showed a closer connection between his self-image and self-ideal, and thus being more congruent with a higher sense of self-worth. According to Rogers, anxiety is a product of an inconsistency between occurrences and one’s idea of the self (Ismail et al., 2015). People who showcase a significant variance between experience and personal perception tend to engage in a self-justifying process due to a feeling of being threatened (Ismail et al., 2015). Throughout his argument, Ali always took an aggressive approach (Voulgaris, 2016). The boxing legend never defended any of his statements. The congruence between his self-image and self-ideal saw the fighter give up his boxing title due to his stand against the war in Vietnam. He never displayed any feeling of regret for such a decision. The lack of remorse and the refusal to engage in defensive processes shows that Ali had a consistent, integrated sense of the self; he was never conflicted between his self-image and ideals.
Muhammad Ali showcased actualizing tendency throughout his life and career. According to Rogers, humans showcase a commonality with all living organisms since they are born with the innate drive- the actualizing tendency (Patterson et al., 2007). The actualizing tendency, in this context, is the inherent tendency of a person to grow all his or her capacities in manners that works toward maintaining or enhancing them. The tendency entails developing toward independence and away from any form of control by external influences (Patterson et al., 2007). A person can be referred to as a fully functioning person once his self-actualization is congruent. A fully functioning person must have first satisfied his or her personal needs. Ali was a fully functioning person that was guided by internally generated value directions. The former heavyweight’s value system entailed moving to highly socialized objectives, where care for others and admittance of others is positively valued. When his association with the Nation of Islam came under scrutiny, the heavyweight weight was willing to give up his title and career for his religion (Voulgaris, 2016). Although the social environment might not have been favorable, Muhammad Ali strived to achieve self-actualization through his activities inside and outside the ring.
Rogers progresses to argue that instead of unsophisticatedly declaring that humans are often behaving in a “positive and constructive manner,” the responses to the unfavorable socio-environmental conditions facilitate the actualization of the self. Thus, in turn, results in the development of self in a direction that is discrepant with the internal motivation toward positive and constructive functioning (Patterson et al., 2007). Such incongruence results in the development of a defensive process. Although aggressive in his argument, Ali was always calm. He, however, felt disrespected when Floyd Patterson refused to refer to Muhammad Ali by the name Muhammad Ali. Floyd Patterson persistently called Ali by his former name, Cassius Clay. In addition, Patterson attacked Ali’s character (Voulgaris, 2016). Patterson admitted his lack of respect for the Black Muslims as an attack on Muhammad Ali. In the eventual fights between Patterson and Ali, Ali chose to embarrass Patterson by delaying his win just to punish Patterson even more. Ali’s action in the case above is a display of a defensive process that grows when an individual’s self-actualization is threatened. While Ali was trying to develop a self-image and ideals, Patterson was dragging him back, infuriating the former heavyweight champion. The rift between Ali and Floyd Patterson went beyond the ring. Resultantly, unlike in other boxing fights where Ali will fight for a win, Ali chose to punish Patterson as a way of defending his process of self-actualization.
Although Ali was a strong personality, he was psychologically disturbed according to Roger’s concept of self. According to Rogers, a psychological disturbance may surface as a result of an internalization of conditions of worth, and thus, the subsequent tendency to evaluate experiences externally (Patterson et al., 2007). When a person becomes alienated from his or her organismic needs, there is a loss of trust in the personal internal judgements, which leads to the external judgement of others. Ali, in many instances, referred to himself as pretty while attacking the physical appearance of his boxing opponent. This was particularly evident in his interaction with Joe Frazier, who Ali referred to as ugly.
In conclusion, Carl Rogers’ theory of self revolves around the concept of self and actualizing tendency. The theory refers to a healthy person to be an individual who can assimilate experiences into their self-structure. Muhammad Ali, in many ways, showcased various aspects of Carl Rogers’ theory of the self as evident above. Muhammad Ali was proud of his real-self and thus showcased the inner personality. The boxer integrated his personality in his activities outside the ring. In addition, Ali, unlike most sports figure in the 1960s, understood his potential and strived to live up to it. Ali understood that he was more than just a black man who was heavily disadvantaged by the system and thus choosing to work toward his potential. In addition, Ali was significantly calm and composed when dealing with the various challenges in his life because he understood his self-worth. Throughout his life, Ali showcased actualizing tendency, which one of the core concept in Carl Rogers’ theory of self. His transition from Cassius Clay to a world-renowned fighter was as a result of an internal value direction that he stood by. Aside from a small display of psychological disturbance through the external attack of others, Ali’s personality is of a healthy person.
References
Ismail, N. A. H., & Tekke, M. (2015). Rediscovering Rogers’s self theory and personality. Journal of Educational, Health and Community Psychology , 4 (3), 28-36.
Patterson, T. G., & Joseph, S. (2007). Person-centered personality theory: Support from self-determination theory and positive psychology. Journal of Humanistic Psychology , 47 (1), 117-139.
Voulgaris, P. J. (2016). Muhammad Ali: An Unusual Leader in the Advancement of Black America (Doctoral dissertation).
